Pioneers get best of Warriors at Roscoe Eades

STERLING – Keying in on someone sometimes isn’t the entire game plan.

As both Sterling and Alleman engaged in a midfield tussle during Thursday’s nonconference soccer match at Roscoe Eades Stadium, Pioneer junior Dora Cacari didn’t have her eye on any particular Golden Warrior defender.

Cacari noticed a particular opening that Sterling’s defenders would always leave. It wasn’t until the 55th minute when she found her opportunity, blasting in the match’s only goal from 18 yards out in a 1-0 Sterling loss.

In a match that didn't see a whole lot of striking offense,
Cacari's goal, coming off a right-side pass from Pioneer junior Anka Snider, was just one of 10 total shots for the Pioneers (1-1). Sterling (1-1) managed only five total shots.

“I knew that gap up the top was wide open most of the game,” Cacari said. “I just saw Anka look [to her right], and I called for it, and it just happened.”

Snider caught Sterling trying to track back on defense just before that goal.

“One of their midfield players was trailing the play a bit and found her,” Sterling coach Brian Cebula said. “She hit it perfect. There’s nothing we could have really done about that goal, it was perfectly placed.”

Six of Alleman’s shots were on-target, and Sterling only managed three on-goal shots. The match’s first shot didn’t come until the eighth minute, when an Alleman shot hit the crossbar and bounced in front of the goal.

The match’s next shot came in the 20th minute, again by Alleman, and their first shot on goal came nearly 8 minutes later when Zoe Arvantis’ left cross met Sterling keeper Tiara Munoz.

Sierra Sotelo gave Sterling its first good look in the 19th minute, but her boot against the wind from about 20 yards out was met square-on by Pioneer keeper Megan Tanghe.

Sotelo, who scored one goal in Sterling’s 6-4 win over Princeton on Monday, is coming off of a torn ACL in her right leg – her kicking leg. She missed all of last year as she recuperated from surgery done last March 15.

After she had her surgery, she couldn’t walk for 5 days before being put on crutches. However, she came back strong enough to be named one of the Golden Warriors’ captains for this season.

“It showed me the value of the game,” Sotelo said. “It can just be taken away – like that. It showed me that this is not a weakness, it’s my strength now. This is my stronger foot. Even though it was injured, it’s stronger now, and I can use it to my advantage.”

Sterling had two shots on goal to Alleman’s one in the first half, but the Pioneers came back strong in the second half and tallied five more, while allowing just one such shot from Sterling – which was blocked by a Pioneer defender.

“Our halftime talk was that we had to start releasing the ball sooner,” Alleman coach Randy Bollman said. “[Sterling’s] big, they’re fast, they’re quick, and they’re just going to run over us if we let them. We started moving the ball quicker in the second half.

“My girls played very well, and I was impressed with the way Sterling played. They’ve got a lot of solid players that put us under pressure.”

The Golden Warriors will travel to Dixon on Tuesday. That will be the Duchesses’ season-opener.

“I thought we worked really good,” Sotelo said. “We can just keep getting better as the season goes.”

Girls soccer

Alleman 1, Sterling 0

Star of the game: Dora Cacari, Alleman, goal

Key performers: Anka Snider, Alleman, assist; Tiara Munoz, Sterling, 5 saves; Megan Tanghe, Alleman, 2 saves

Up next: Sterling at Dixon, 4:30 p.m. Tuesday